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THURSDAY EDITION: Our club 440 repeater 35A
Astron power supply was diagnosed with the secondary transformer
winding shorted out, according to the hams at the club Tuesday
night. I never got my fingers in it but wonder if I should go check
it myself? .....We had some pretty good lightning and thunder last
night so I disconnected the antenna from radios, probably didn't
miss anything...I worked K2M yesterday on 7180, special events
station....
Award for Top Homebrew Designers in Amateur Radio Announced
The ICQ Podcast
has announced a partnership to establish an annual “ Homebrew
Heroes Award” to recognize individuals, groups, or
organizations that help to define the frontiers in Amateur Radio
technology by building their own equipment. The new awards
program is independent of the ICQ Podcast, but three podcast
members comprise the Steering Committee — Frank Howell, K4FMH;
Martin Butler, M1MRB/W9ICQ, and Colin Butler, M6BOY. The ICQ
Podcast is a promotional partner in this endeavor, and Howell
maintains the award website. “We felt that with all of the
technical homebrew activity in Amateur Radio today, that there
should be a means by which to identify and highlight those whose
technical creativity has made a clear impact on the hobby,”
Howell said. Martin Butler observed the trio’s recent visit to
Dayton Hamvention convinced them that homebrewing is alive and
well.
Seeing this, Martin’s son, Colin, added, “My background in
strategic marketing and information technology led me to believe
that the time was right for such an award.”
Jeremy Kolonay, KF7IJZ, co-host of
Ham Radio
Workbench podcast, expressed enthusiasm for the new
award. “It’s really important to have a way to recognize and
promote excellence achieved by the most successful
participants,” he said.
Howell said corporate sponsors have begun to sign on to
donate prizes for future award recipients. The list includes
Digilent, which told the award committee that it would
contribute an Analog Discovery 2 test device, and Howell said he
anticipates that the donor list will grow as more become aware
of the new award.
There is no application for the award. The Steering Committee
will recognize Homebrew Heroes Award candidates in the broad
area of electronic homebrew design and construction “based upon
the impact they have made in Amateur Radio,” the award website
says. The Steering Committee will accept suggestions, however,
and will evaluate these for referral to an anonymous Selection
Committee.
Amateur Radio Kids Day in Elizabeth
Members of the Tri-County Radio Association and the Fair Lawn
Amateur Radio Club will jointly conduct a special Ham
Radio Day for Kids activity on Saturday, July 27, 2019
The New Jersey Patch reports:
The event will run from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Union County
Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl Street,
Elizabeth, NJ. Admission is free and the public is encouraged to
attend.
Modeled on earlier successes, the event is intended introduce
various aspects of amateur radio to local families and their
children. The clubs will present ham radio as a family activity
that complements STEM education, provides opportunities to teach
about the fun of amateur radio, the role it plays in providing
public service and how the hobby further enriches one's
understanding of cultures, geography and history.
Read the full story at
https://patch.com/new-jersey/clark/amateur-radio-kids-day-elizabeth
Simple RF Radiation Detector
from Paul Signorelli, W0RW
You can get a simple RF radiation detector right at your
greeting card store at your supermarket.
The electronics inside those “musical” Greeting cards is
poorly shielded. They can be initiated with a small handie
talkie. If you put your HT on some unused frequency, (Don’t use
146.52, 446.000 or any repeater frequencies) and key the
transmitter you will find the most sensitive to your frequency.
My ‘dancing dog’ card is most sensitive at 440 MHz and above.
I even used it to check the door leakage on my microwave oven,
(don’t put it inside). When it detects RF the card starts
playing music and the LED’s start flashing. Happy songs.
WEDNESDAY EDITION: Looks like a day of heat,
humidity, and rain later in the day. Good day for some inside
projects.....The fastest growing "gaggle of fools" is still
performing nightly on 75 meters excessively id'ing and talking about
nothing if you need a little entertainment....I went up to the ATT
cell tower site yesterday to check on the 440 repeater, I had to
call in and get a ticket number to check in and out of the site. The
check in process used to be easy but as got more complex over the
years. The process is done over the phone and has been outsourced to
a firm in the Czech Republic with a guy who can speak broken
English. You mean to say we can't do anything within the USA
anymore? Call Xfiniti and you get some bubblehead in India....it
goes on and on....Have you ever thought if China wanted to cripple
us without picking up as much as a squirt gun all they have to do is
shut off all exports to us...we can't make shit, not even a good
car....all our radio gear is made in China or Japan.....
Navajo Code Talkers special event
Look for the special event station, N7C,
from the Navajo Code Talkers Memorial Park located in Window
Rock, Arizona, between August 14-18th.
The special event is commemorating the Marine Navajo
Code Talkers and their contribution to winning the War
in the Pacific at the end of WW II.
Activity will be on 40/20/17 meters, the suggested
frequencies are 14265, 7265 and 18133 kHz.
QSL Manager is N7HG.
Dayton Hamvention 2019 Attendance Approaches All-Time Peak
The Hamvention Executive Team announced on July 15 that
attendance at
Dayton Hamvention® 2019 was 32,472. This marks
the highest attendance recorded since Hamvention moved in
2017 from Hara Arena to the Greene County Fairgrounds and
Exposition Center in Xenia, Ohio. This year’s attendance
also approached an all-time Hamvention high. Attendance at
the show peaked in 1993 at 33,669, before the 1996 change in
date from April to May while Hamvention was still being held
at Hara Arena. Last year, Hamvention welcomed 28,417
visitors in its second year in Xenia. Attendance in 2016 for
the show’s final year at Hara was 25,364. Hamvention hosted
the ARRL 2019 National Convention, and both embraced the
theme of “Mentoring the Next Generation.” “Our early
indications were that 2019 would be a big year, and it lived
up to our expectations,” Hamvention General Chair Jack Gerbs,
WB8SCT, said. “Our more than 700 volunteers worked hard to
ensure that we presented a great show for our visitors. It
wouldn't have been possible without them. I also want to
thank all our vendors and visitors and hope they will all be
back next year.”
Hamvention officials suggested that a small factor behind
the increased attendance could have been the free admission
on Sunday. Sunday-only tickets accounted for some 800 of the
total attendance. The open admission day was an effort to
allow local non-hams to experience Hamvention, and free
Sunday admission is expected to be continued next year,
Hamvention officials said.
Assistant General Chair Rick Allnutt, WS8G, said that
amateur operators from all US states and territories and 60
other countries attended Dayton Hamvention 2019. According
to Allnutt, comments received about the show were
overwhelmingly positive.
Gerbs said the Agricultural Society, Greene County, Xenia
Township, and the City of Xenia cooperated in making
Hamvention 2019 a success.
The world’s largest Amateur Radio exposition, Dayton
Hamvention is sponsored by the Dayton Amateur Radio
Association (DARA) every third full weekend in May.
Hamvention 2020 will take place on May 15, 16, and 17.
Apollo 11 Real-Time Radio Communication Audio
You can listen to archive footage in real time 50 years ago.
From the website
http://www.collectspace.com
"With a single click, a new website can take you back 50 years
and place you directly into the real-time action of the first
moon landing mission.
"But if "Apollo 11 in Real-Time" creator Ben Feist has gotten
it right, you will want to click many more times than just
once."
Link-
https://apolloinrealtime.org/11/
New WSJT-X with FT4 released
The ARRL report a major new update of WSJT-X
has been released. Version 2.1.0 supports the new FT4 mode in
addition to the popular FT8
The ARRL says:
The WSJT Development Group has announced the “general
availability” release of WSJT-X version 2.1.0. This major
upgrade formally introduces FT4 as a finished protocol for HF
contesting.
WSJT-X version 2.1.0 supplants any “release candidate” (beta)
versions, and users should discontinue using any beta versions
of the software. The latest edition of the popular digital
software suite also includes improvements and bug fixes in
several areas, including FT8.
Read the full ARRL story at
http://www.arrl.org/news/major-wsjt-x-upgrade-boosts-ft4-into-a-finished-protocol-for-hf-contesting
Download WSJT-X from
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html
No consensus reached for FCC on 'Symbol Rate'
issues
ARRL-initiated efforts for rival parties to reach consensus
on some of the issues they raised in the so-called 'Symbol Rate'
proceeding have ended
The ARRL say:
In April, the FCC granted ARRL’s request for a 90-day hold in
the proceeding, FCC Docket WT 16-239, to provide an opportunity
for ARRL to lead an effort to determine whether consensus could
be reached on some or all of the issues that commenters have
raised in the FCC’s proceeding. The FCC already has issued a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in WT 16-239, which stemmed from
ARRL’s rulemaking petition RM-11708.
Discussions were since widened to include issues raised in
another Petition for Rule Making, RM-11831, filed by Ron Kolarik,
K0IDT, that seeks, in the words of his petition, “to ensure
Amateur Radio digital modes remain openly decodable and
available for monitoring” by the FCC and by other third parties,
including other radio amateurs. His petition also aims to limit
Automated Controlled Digital Stations (ACDS) to identified HF
sub-bands, to reduce interference. Last month, ARRL filed an
interim report with the FCC summarizing its efforts to bring all
sides to the table, and on June 28, ARRL requested an additional
60-day pause to pursue promising talks.
Read the ARRL story in full with links at
http://www.arrl.org/news/no-consensus-reached-for-fcc-on-symbol-rate-issues
FCC agrees to 90-day pause in consideration of WT Docket
16-239
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2019/april/fcc-agrees-to-90-day-pause-in-consideration-of-wt-docket-16-239.htm
Brief History of Symbol Rate restriction by M5AKA:
On March 17, 1980 the FCC introduced a Symbol Rate restriction
on amateur digital transmissions. In the earlier public
consultations on new rules for digital transmissions 80% of all
respondents had expressed the opinion that the FCC should impose
few if any restrictions, unfortunately that didn't happen.
There was a view that the bandwidth of ASCII signals should be
limited but in that era the ARRL was strongly opposed to the
concept of Regulation by Bandwidth and had successfully fought a
bitter battle over several years against the FCC's Docket 20777
that had proposed bandwidth regulation. Restricting the Symbol
Rate was seen as a way of restricting the bandwidth with having
to specify an explicit bandwidth restriction, however, this
regulation was to cripple future development of amateur digital
modes.
At the ARRL Board of Directors meeting of July 19-20, 2002, the
ARRL policy shifted and it was voted that "at the next
practical opportunity the ARRL shall petition the FCC to revise
Part 97 to regulate subbands by signal bandwidth instead of by
mode."
Since 2002 various petitions have been made to the FCC to
persuade them to spend resources on introducing Regulation by
Bandwidth for the Amateur Services and to scrap the archaic
Symbol Rate restriction, all so far without success.
Regulatory change in the USA (and other countries) takes a very
long time.
TUESDAY EDITION: Boating day.....and I have
to get to that blown power supply sometime soon, thanks for the
helpful hints on where to look from experienced Astron repair guys,
Bob-W1GWU, Rich-W3OT,.....Having solved all the problems on earth,
NASA is sending
robots to the moon....For you guys who
like to fish.....it appears ancestors of modern man screwed
everything on there travels, not much changed over the
years...
Adding Lora long range radio to smartphones and
connected devices
Would you add another radio to your smartphone? No, not another
WiFi or cellular radio; a smartphone already has that. I’m talking
about something that provides connectivity through ISM bands, either
433 or 915 MHz. This can be used where you don’t have cell phone
coverage, and it has a longer range than WiFi. This is the idea
behind the LoRa Sleeve, a messaging system that
allows you to send off-the-grid messages.
The LoRa Sleeve is an ESP32-based hardware modem that can
communicate with a smartphone, or any other device for that matter,
over Bluetooth or USB. Inside, there are two modules, an ESP32 WROOM
module that provides the Bluetooth, WiFi, USB connectivity, and all
of the important software configuration and web-based GUI. The LoRa
module is the ubiquitous RFM95W that’s ready to drop into any
circuit. Other than that, the entire circuit is just a battery and
some power management ICs.
While LoRa is certinaly not the protocol you would use for
forwarding pics up to Instagram, it is a remarkable protocol for
short messages carried over a long range. That’s exactly what you
want when you’re out of range of cell phone towers — those pics can
wait, but you might really want to send a few words to your friends.
That’s invaluable, and LoRa makes a lot of sense in that case.
https://hackaday.com/2019/07/11/adding-lora-long-range-radio-to-smartphones-and-connected-devices/
19-20 July AO50MOON on EME
Hi from Spain,
during this month of July we are activating from Spain the special
call AO50MOON.
As this Saturday July 20th marks the exact date of the Apollo XI
moon landing 50 years ago, we are going to put that callsign on EME
(Moonbounce)...all of you EME ready, look for our signal from the
moon :-)
AmateurLogic 132: Field Day
Down South
It’s been a few years since the weather allowed, but this year we
made it back to do Field Day In The Woods. Join Tommy, George, and
Wayne for a fun time in the wilderness. Emile and the W5SLA crew
operate Field Day In The Clubhouse.
One thing’s for certain about Field Day in the South. It’s going
to be a hot time no matter where you are.
VIDEO
Dallas Frontiers of Flight Museum Moon Day
The 50th anniversary of Apollo 11's historic moon landing is upon
us.
Saturday July 20th, the Frontiers of Flight Museum
in Dallas, TX Love Field will be presenting it's annual "Moon
Day" STEM event.
AMSAT will be represented along side the Dallas Amateur Radio
Club. We will be showing off the Fox cubesat engineering model, the
AMSAT Cubesat Simulator, talking orbits and demonstrating Amateur
Radio Satellite communications. This is a general public event, with
lots of young people in attendance.
If you live in North Texas, are a supporter of AMSAT and would
like to spend some time next Saturday, helping with our display
table, or assisting Mac Cody, AE5PH, in doing satellite contacts,
please drop me an email and I will give you more details on when and
how to help.
Tom Schuessler, N5HYP
Well-Known DXer and DXpeditioner Anath Pai, VU2PAI, SK
Well-known contester and DXpeditioner Anath Pai, VU2PAI, of
Mangalore, India, died on July 13. He was 47 and was reported to
have suffered a heart attack while on a business trip. He was on
the VU4CB, VU7AG, 8Q7KP, HB0/VU2PAI, and VU7LD excursions, among
others. On his QRZ.com profile, Pai described himself as “a
die-hard DXer.” Licensed in 1995, he was active on all bands
from 160 through 6 meters on several modes. A businessman and
world traveler, Pai had visited the US and attended Dayton
Hamvention in the past. He was a member of the Mangalore Amateur
Radio Club and served on the Governing Council of the Amateur
Radio Society of India (ARSI), his country’s IARU
member-society.
Condolences may be posted online.
Engineering students use ARDF to train for
disasters
The Times of India reports it is't a mobile game but
engineering students are hooked to what is called a game of
'Foxhunt' (Amateur Radio Direction Finding)
And it is all about their interest to help out in times of
natural disasters facilitating communication to carry out relief
and rescue operations.
Read the full story at
http://timesofindia.
indiatimes.com/articleshow/70214257.cms
Dutch IARU Member-Society Invites Hams to Participate in
2-Meter Propagation Experiment
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-society
in the Netherlands,
VERON, has invited radio amateurs from around
the world to take part in what it’s calling a 2-meter
propagation experiment. VERON said the
aim is to collect as much data as possible about contacts
made on 2 meters. All modes are welcome. The event is set
for July 20 from 1700 to 1900 UTC. Submit logs to
ClubLog
before August 1. “It is not a contest,” VERON said. “Just
have fun and give realistic reports.”
MONDAY EDITION: I have a new Astron 35 amp
power supply that is blowing the primary 8 amp fuse and I have to
take that thing apart and take a look. It is under warrantee but
would cost more to send it back and forth that it is worth, so a
little trouble shooting. I guess the firs step is to look and smell
for the obvious problem and then disconnect the circuit board from
the capacitors....see if the diodes and caps are ok and power it
up...no smoke, the figure out what went wrong with the voltage
regulator and crowbar circuit...beautiful weekend for beach and
boating and cooking out here on the rock. Lobstering catches went
way up and the stripers are everywhere, I still have a couple dozeb-n
lobster traps laying around, hmmmmmm.....
The guy on the right is Ted Karras, a New England Patriots football
player, complete with his collection of
playoff rings, showing them to my buddy in Gloucester while gassing
up his cruiser. stats: 6'4" 305 playing weight
FAA Reauthorization Act Language Serves to Exclude Vast Majority
of Amateur Radio Towers
Language in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Reauthorization Act of 2018 will exclude
all but a small number of Amateur Radio towers from marking
requirements. Thanks to action taken in 2017 and 2018 by ARRL,
the bill’s original language was amended to the extent that
amateur towers, as well as residential towers used for
over-the-air TV reception, were effectively exempted from
marking requirements. The topic was addressed at the annual
“Ham Radio and the Law” forum at the
Dayton Hamvention®
this past May. Some key points from that presentation: (1)
Towers covered by the rules are structures at least 50 feet tall
that support an antenna and are located in a rural area or on
farmland or immediately adjacent to such land. (2) According to
the Act, the term “covered tower” does not include any
structure that is adjacent to a house, barn, or other building,
and “is within the curtilage of a farmstead or adjacent to
another building or visible structure.”
ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND,
explains that, while a few Amateur Radio towers will fall under
the Act’s marking requirements and will have to be registered,
towers in residential yards or within farmland are specifically
exempted.
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Members of the DxFriends Team will lead a DXpedition to the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) to be
active between July 15-21st.
Operators mentioned are Tony/EA5RM (Team Leader),
Alberto/EA1SA, Gen/EA5EL, Raul/EA5KA, Javi/EA5KM, Manuel/EA7AJR,
Jose/EA7KW, Tony/F8ATS, Bernard/ F9IE, Simone/IK5RUN, Fabrizio/IN3ZNR,
Giorgio/IZ4AKS, Luca/IW0DJB and Ken/LA7GIA. They will use the
callsign 1A0C.
Activity will be on 80-6 meters (including 60/30/17/12m
bands) using CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8, with at least three stations
on the air.
Suggested frequencies are:
CW - 3524, 5360, 7004, 10104, 14024, 18074, 21024, 24894 and
28024 kHz
SSB - 3780, 5360, 7065/7160, 14195, 18145, 21295, 24945 and
28495 kHz
FT8 - 3571, 5357, 7041, 10131, 14071, 18096, 21071, 24915 and
28071 kHz
RTTY - 14080 kHz
6m - 50103/CW, 50120/SSB and 50313/FT8
QSL via EA5RM. An online log and OQRS will be available.
For more details and updates, go to:
http://www.1A0C.com
http://www.dxfriends.com
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary Of The Moon Landing...
* Look for PA11APOLLO from the Netherlands between now and
August 2nd. QSL via PA1UN.
* Look for VI3MOON from Australia between July 16-24th. QSL
via the
Bureau or direct (see QRZ.com).
* Members of the Tablelands Radio & Electronics Club will be
active as
VI50ML between July 13-21st. A commemorative QSL card has been
produced and is available as a download at:
https://www.silvertrain.com.au
Please do not send cards via the VK Bureau.
* The Milford, OH, Amateur Radio Club (W8MRC) is operating
N1A special
events station to honor Neil Armstrong's lunar landing 50 years
ago.
N1A will be active beginning on Sunday, July 14, 2019, and will
run until Sunday, July 28th, 2019. QSL card details can be read
on the club's Web site, W8MRC.com.
* There is also a list of many stateside stations on the ARRL
Web page
at:
http://www.arrl.org/news/view/special-event-stations-to-commemorate-50th-anniversary-of-the-apollo-moon-landing
New Science Museum exhibition
Discover the remarkable world of codebreaking, ciphers and
secret communications in a new exhibition at the Science
Museum in London.
From the trenches of the First World War to the latest in
cyber security, Top Secret explores over a century’s worth of
communications intelligence through hand-written documents,
declassified files and previously unseen artefacts from the
Science Museum Group’s and GCHQ’s historic collections.
It includes the story of Alan Turing and the team
of Bletchley Park codebreakers who broke the Enigma code in
1941. Top Secret coincides with the 100th anniversary of GCHQ
and runs until 23 February 2020.
The exhibition is free, but booking is required.
https://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/gb2rs/headlines/2019/07/12/new-science-museum-exhibition/
WEEKEND EDITION: I spent the morning fooling around with
the 440 repeater amplifier and power supply trying to get it back on
the air. I went up last week and found the amp down because the new
Astron power supply had blown an 8 amp fuse...so I finally got
around to finding 8 amp fuses, not easy here on the island, only 5
and 10 amps ones available....so back to the site, installed new
fuse, fired it up, and wham, blown fuse again. It turns out the new
Henry solid state 15 in- 100 out is blowing the fuses. One year
warranty so back to CA it goes Monday morning after I pack it
up...So we are just running 15 watts on 443.700 until I get the amp
back....
FAA Reauthorization Act Language Serves to Exclude Vast Majority
of Amateur Radio Towers
Language in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Reauthorization Act of 2018 will exclude
all but a small number of Amateur Radio towers from marking
requirements. Thanks to action taken in 2017 and 2018 by ARRL,
the bill’s original language was amended to the extent that
amateur towers, as well as residential towers used for
over-the-air TV reception, were effectively exempted from
marking requirements. The topic was addressed at the annual
“Ham Radio and the Law” forum at the
Dayton Hamvention®
this past May. Some key points from that presentation: (1)
Towers covered by the rules are structures at least 50 feet tall
that support an antenna and are located in a rural area or on
farmland or immediately adjacent to such land. (2) According to
the Act, the term “covered tower” does not include any
structure that is adjacent to a house, barn, or other building,
and “is within the curtilage of a farmstead or adjacent to
another building or visible structure.”
ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND,
explains that, while a few Amateur Radio towers will fall under
the Act’s marking requirements and will have to be registered,
towers in residential yards or within farmland are specifically
exempted.
More information is on the ARRL website. HWN, WX4NHC at National Hurricane Center to Activate for
Tropical Storm Barry
Responding to Tropical Storm Barry, the Hurricane Watch Net ( HWN)
and WX4NHC
— the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center ( NHC)
in Miami — have announced plans to activate.
The HWN will activate today (July 12) at 2300 UTC on both
14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz.
“We will operate on 14.325 for as long as propagation allows
and will suspend operations on 7.268 MHz at 0300 UTC,” HWN
Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, said. “Net operations will resume
Saturday morning at 1230 UTC (on both 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz)
or as soon as the Waterway Net concludes operation.” Graves said
that once the net activates on Saturday, it will remain in
operation until further notice.
Graves said the HWN also will be available to provide back-up
communication to official agencies in the affected area and will
be collecting and reporting “significant damage assessment data”
to FEMA officials at the National Hurricane Center.
WX4NHC will activate July 12 at 8 PM EDT (July 13 at 0000 UTC)
and operate through landfall on Saturday.
“We encourage all ham operators in the affected area to take
all safety precautions needed and comply with evacuation orders
from authorities,” WX4NHC Assistant Manager Julio Ripoll, WD4R,
said. The Hurricane Watch Net and WX4NHC typically coordinate
their activities, with the HWN reporting weather data observed
by participants to the NHC via WX4NHC.
Hurricane hunters report that Tropical Storm Barry is gaining
strength.
Forecasters predict additional strengthening before
landfall; Barry is expected to be a hurricane when the center
reaches the Louisiana coast. The NHC says dangerous storm surge,
heavy rainfall, and high wind conditions are expected across the
north-central Gulf Coast.
The heavy rainfall could generate additional flooding in the
region. According to NHC forecasters, Barry is expected to
produce total rain accumulations of 10 to 20 inches over
south-central and southeast Louisiana as well as over southwest
Mississippi, with isolated maximum amounts of 25 inches. “These
rains are expected to lead to dangerous, life-threatening
flooding over portions of the central Gulf Coast into the Lower
Mississippi Valley,” the NHC forecast said
As of 1500 UTC, Barry was about 100 miles southwest of the
mouth of the Mississippi River and some 115 miles
south-southeast of Morgan City, Louisiana. The storm now boasts
maximum sustained winds of 65 MPH and continues to move
west-northwest at 5 MPH.
“A motion toward the northwest is expected to begin later
today, followed by a turn toward the north Saturday night,” the
NHC forecast said. “On the forecast track, the center of Barry
will approach the central or southeastern coast of Louisiana
through tonight and then make landfall over the central
Louisiana coast on Saturday.”
Northern Florida ARES Section Emergency Coordinator Karl
Martin, KG4HBN, has told ARRL that his team is monitoring Barry
but does not expect the storm to affect Northern Florida. Martin
said no plans are in place to formally activate the North
Florida ARES Net.
Spectacular auroras photographed by NASA
Stratospheric Observatory
A solar wind stream hit Earth Wednesday-and the timing
couldn't have been better.
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared
Astronomy (SOFIA) had just taken off from New Zealand.
Astronomers onboard the specially modified Boeing 747 got an
eyeful of rare auroral forms as they skimmed the bottom of the
stratosphere over the Southern Ocean.
Visit
Spaceweather.com for the full story
DX News from the ARRL
This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided
by The Daily DX, The OPDX Bulletin, 425 DX News, DXNL, Contest
Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites.
Thanks to all.
GEORGIA, 4L. David, AD0PY/DL7ZM will be QRV as 4L/DL7ZM from July
13 to 21. Activity will be on 6 meters using CW, SSB and FT8. This
includes being an entry in the upcoming CQ World Wide VHF contest.
QSL direct to home call.
EAST MALAYSIA, 9M6. Saty, JE1JKL is QRV as 9M6NA from Labuan
Island, IOTA OC-133, until July 16. His focus is on 6 meters using
FT8. This includes being an entry in the IARU HF World Championship.
QSL via LoTW.
PHILIPPINES, DU. Chris, OZ1GNN is QRV as DU1/OZ1GNN from
Antipolo, Grid Square PK04on, until July 26. QSL via LoTW.
PALESTINE, E4. Janusz, SP9FIH is QRV as E44WE from Bethlehem
until August 6. Activity is on 80, 30, 20 and 6 meters using SSB,
RTTY and FT8. QSL to home call.
ENGLAND, G. Members of the Leicester Radio Society are QRV with
special call sign GB5EHL until July 28 to commemorate the first Moon
landing. Activity is on the HF bands using CW, SSB, RTTY, SSTV, PSK
and FT8. QSL via operators' instructions.
ISLE OF MAN, GD. Dave, WJ2O is QRV as MD/WJ2O until July 17. This
includes being active in the IARU HF World Championship. QSL via
N2ZN.
SOLOMON ISLANDS, H4. Bernhard, DL2GAC is QRV as H44MS from
Malaita Island, IOTA OC-047, until September 25. Activity is on 80
to 6 meters using only SSB. QSL to home call.
ECUADOR, HC. Dervin, PD9DX is QRV as HC5BDT until July 18. This
includes being an entry in the IARU HF World Championship. QSL via
M0URX.
REPUBLIC OF KOREA, HL. Special event station D73F is QRV until
August 18 during the 18th World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju.
QSL via HL4CCM.
THAILAND, HS. Look for RAST HQ station E2HQ to be QRV in the IARU
HF World Championship. QSL via LoTW. In addition, HS0AC will be
activated by Rookie Hams from ITU Zone 49. QSL via HS5NMF. Jack,
HS1FVL will be QRV with the R3 Multiplier. QSL to home call.
ALASKA, KL. Rick, K6VVA plans to be QRV as K6VVA/KL7 from
Endicott Island, IOTA NA-004, from July 16 to 19. Activity will be
on 40, 30 and 20 meters using mostly CW with some SSB. QSL via his
instructions found on QRZ.com.
LUXEMBOURG, LX. Members of the Luxembourg Amateur Radio Union are
QRV with special call sign LX50MOON during July to commemorate the
first Moon landing. QSL via LoTW.
MARKET REEF, OJ0. A group of operators will be QRV as OJ0C from
July 13 to 20. QSL via OH3JR.
DENMARK, OZ. Carsten, OZ4CG is QRV as OZ4SOP from Bornholm, IOTA
EU-030, during July to support the Sea of Peace award. This includes
being an entry in the IARU HF World Championship. QSL via LoTW.
ARUBA, P4. John, W2GD will be QRV as P44W in the IARU HF World
Championship as a Single Op/All Band/High Power CW entry. QSL via
LoTW.
NETHERLANDS, PA. Special event station PA11APOLLO is QRV until
August 2 to commemorate the first Moon landing. QSL via PA1UN.
CORSICA, TK. Frans, DJ0TP is QRV as TK/DJ0TP until August 8.
Activity is holiday style. QSL to home call.
AUSTRALIA, VK. Special event station VI3MOON will be QRV from
July 16 to 24 to commemorate the first Moon landing. QSL via bureau.
BERMUDA, VP9. Steven, KU9C and Stephen, KL7SB are QRV as home
calls/VP9 until July 15. They will be active as VP9HQ in the IARU HF
World Championship. QSL KU9C/VP9 and VP9HQ via KU9C and KL7SB/VP9
via N4GNR.
GIBRALTAR, ZB. Members of the Gibraltar Amateur Radio Society are
QRV with special event station ZB2IG19 until July 30 during the 18th
Gibraltar Island Games 2019. QSL direct to ZB2BU.
CAYMAN ISLANDS, ZF. Operators K6GO and NA6MB are QRV as ZF2GO and
ZF2NA, respectively, until July 21. Activity is on 160 to 10 meters.
They will be QRV as ZF1A as the Cayman Island HQ station in the IARU
HF Word Championship. They will also be QRV in the upcoming North
American RTTY QSO Party. QSL via operators' instructions.
NEW ZEALAND, ZL. Frank, ZL2BR plans to be QRV as ZL6HQ as the New
Zealand HQ station in the IARU HF World Championship. Activity will
be with CW. QSL via the bureau.
THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO
The IARU HF World Championship, QRP 20-Meter CW Fox Hunt, NCCC RTTY
Sprint, NCCC CW Sprint, FISTS Summer Unlimited CW Sprint, SKCC
Weekend CW Sprintathon and the QRP ARCI Summer Homebrew CW Sprint
will certainly keep contesters busy this upcoming weekend.
The 4 States QRP Group Second Sunday Sprint is scheduled for July
15.
The CWops Mini-CWT CW Test and Phone Fray are scheduled for July
17.
The Canadian National Parks on the Air, CNPOTA, operating event
runs for the entire year of 2019, with special stations active from
Canada's parks and historic sites.
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2176 for Friday
July 12, 2019
BRITISH, SOUTH AFRICAN HAMS AGAINST PROPOSAL FOR 2 METRES
JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week with an update on an ongoing story:
Two more amateur radio groups have weighed in on a controversial
proposal to change the primary use of the 2 metre band to be for
aeronautical surveillance use. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has more.
JEREMY: The Radio Society of Great Britain has written to the UK
communications regulator Ofcom expressing concern over a proposed
agenda item for the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference that
would reallocate the frequency range of 144 to 146 MHz to
aeronautical services as the primary user.
President Dave Wilson M0OBW (Em-Zero-Oh-Bee-W) wrote of the
organisation's deep concerns about preserving amateur radio's
primary allocation globally. The French have asked that the 2023
session of the WRC include this proposal on the agenda, which is set
well in advance of that year's session. In June, the IARU Region 1
issued a strong statement opposing the proposal's inclusion on the
agenda. Separately, the South African Radio League recently added
its voice in opposition. SARL noted on its website: "The various
amateur radio organisations in CEPT countries are working with their
authorities to block the proposal from being put forward as an
agenda item for WRC23." Meanwhile, the French proposal has advanced
for discussion at a meeting in August of the CEPT Conference
Preparatory Group where its inclusion at the 2023 meeting will be
discussed.
IRAN OPENS HISTORIC SITES FOR DXPEDITIONERS
JIM/ANCHOR: Thinking of activating someplace new? Or working a
DXpedition you haven't worked before? Robert Broomhead VK3DN has
news for you.
ROBERT: DXpeditions are now possible in Iran. The first location
being made available to amateur radio operators is Shapour (sha-POOR)
Citadel in Chaharmahal (cha-HARM-a-hal) and Bakhtiari (bok-tee-ARRI)
Province. In making the announcement the Communications Regulatory
Authority and Persian Amateur Radio Club are hoping to generate
interest in other similarly famous sites throughout Iran. Interested
DXpeditioners should contact the coordinator Ali EP3AG at ep3ag at
yahoo.com (ep3ag@yahoo.com) at least three to four months before the
desired date of operation in order to secure the necessary
paperwork.
NEVADA'S 'BURNING MAN' EVENT GETTING HAM RADIO ACTIVATION
JIM/ANCHOR: A temporary city in Nevada is getting what every city
needs: Its own amateur radio event. Here's Kevin Trotman N5PRE with
the details.
KEVIN: The Burning Man event is a temporary city in the Black Rock
Desert of Nevada where tens of thousands of people live
independently, devoting their efforts to self-expression,
self-reliance and community. This year the Burning Man event will
also be, in part, an amateur radio event. Clifford Novey KK6QMS
plans an HF setup for 80 meters through 10 meters and a VHF/UHF
operation near his camp, and may possibly include a dish for Amateur
Radio Emergency Data Network mesh. Clifford will be there as well in
an official capacity as part of the event's IT team for a two-month
period from July 15th through to September 15th. Beyond his official
work there, he had been wanting to operate radio from the Burning
Man event, which he first attended in 2014. This year the gathering
opens on August 25th and runs through September 2nd.
He's not the first ham to operate from Burning Man but as an avid
amateur radio experimenter who enjoys both portable operations and
Summits On the Air, he sees the venue as a natural next step for
him.
Be listening soon for his voice coming from the Nevada desert.
LUNAR MODULE TRIBUTE IN NY FEATURES HAMS FROM GRUMMAN
JIM/ANCHOR: It seems everyone's wanting to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the moonlanding and moonwalk - but perhaps no one
more than some hams who worked on the lunar module for the Apollo
mission. Mike Askins KE5CXP tells us more.
MIKE: Because the Apollo 11 lunar excursion module - the LEM - began
with the efforts and talents of the men and women of the Grumman
Corporation in New York, it's only fitting that this year's 50th
anniversary tribute on amateur radio should begin the same way -
with two hams who worked on it at the Bethpage, Long Island
facility. As special event station K2M begins the first of its six
days of operation on July 16th at 13:32 UTC, Leon KD2ONC and Jim
W2KFV - who were both LEM team members - will be on the air calling
the first CQs. The special event station, which is being operated by
the Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club, is a tribute to the 50th
anniversary of the LEM. That finds Leon and Jim collaborating one
more time - on one more project: They'll both be signing
commemorative certificates that will be given to only the first 50
hams who successfully contact K2M.
Be listening for them on 20 meters. The frequency is, of course,
14.3-2-1.
AMATEUR RADIO HELPS SATELLITE SEND SOLAR ECLIPSE IMAGERY
JIM/ANCHOR: Meanwhile, a satellite orbiting the moon was able to
send some special images back home with the help of amateur radio.
Jim Meachen ZL2BHF has those details.
JIM: Amateur radio operators in Germany and Spain became part of a
photography team of sorts when they assisted a Chinese
microsatellite's delivery of images of the Earth taken during a
recent solar eclipse. The Longjiang-2 microsatellite, which has been
in lunar orbit for a little more than a year, is a project of the
Harbin Institute of Technology in China. It took the photos using a
mini-CMOS camera, capturing Earth during the total eclipse that was
visible in some parts of South America. On July 2, the hams helped
with the delivery of the pictures back to Earth.
The satellite itself weighs only 47 kg, or 103 pounds, and the
camera weighs 20 grams, or just under one ounce. Launched last year,
it had previously captured photos of the far side of the moon.
Photos are beamed back to Earth via small radio transmitter.
At the end of July when its operation ceases, the microsatellite,
which was sent into space in May of 2018, is to complete its journey
with a controlled crash on the moon.
DXPEDITIONERS DEBUT ON FRENCH ISLANDS NEAR CANADA
JIM/ANCHOR: Get ready for a new DXpedition team rolling out a
special North American activation. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has details.
JEREMY: The French Islands Dxpedition team is making its debut on
the air in August in the last remaining French territory in North
America: the archipelago south of Newfoundland known as St. Pierre
et Miquelon. There's a bit of planning they need to do between now
and then and Chris VO1IDX/K1IDX, who grew up in the area, said the
team has been busy. Chris said the trip grew out of a discussion in
which Alex DD5ZZ/KD5ZZ had expressed an interest in an activation
there. They are being joined there by Martin DM4IM/V31IM and Georg
DJ6GI/NZ1C. Chris told Newsline that during their time on the air,
between August 10th through to the 18th, the team will try to
operate from 6 metres to 160 metres using SSB, CW and RTTY. They
will make a special effort to focus on contacts to Japan since the
islands are big on the most-wanted DX list there.
Chris said that the team and its equipment will be carried through
the French-owned waters by a childhood friend of his who has a
40-foot fishing vessel. Its name is "Just the Beginning" - a perfect
title for the valued transport of a team making its first DXpedition
together.
For more details visit their website, fp2019 dot net {fp2019.net} or
the Facebook page for French Islands DxPedition 2019.
NEW WIRELESS NETWORK USES RADIO AS ALTERNATIVE TO CELLULAR
JIM/ANCHOR: A California company is developing a new wireless
alternative to cellular service. Stephen Kinford N8WB has details.
STEPHEN: A San Francisco-based wireless network developer is working
with an estimated $51 million in cumulative funding to fuel its
plans, already under way, to launch a wide-range Internet of Things
wireless network that it hopes will become an alternative to 5G and
other cellular communications.
The company, Helium, was founded in 2013. It has used radio
technology for data transport in earlier projects, making use of the
Industrial Scientific and Medical Band, or ISM band, between 902 MHz
and 928 MHz, to capitalize on the band's propagation
characteristics.
The FCC has reserved the band for low-power unlicensed devices and
consumer use but those same frequencies are also used for amateur
radio on a secondary basis.
FAA REVIEWING TOWER-SAFETY MEASURE FOR LOW-LEVEL FLIGHTS
JIM/ANCHOR: Proposed federal regulations are under review in the
United States that would have an impact later this year on certain
types of towers that are between 50 feet and 200 feet tall and could
affect agricultural and other low-level flight operations. A July 8
report in General Aviation News noted that this mainly refers to
meteorological evaluation towers, commonly used in rural areas to
measure wind speed. Those towers must be entered into an FAA
database and also be visibly marked. Ian Gregor, communications
manager in the FAA's Pacific Division, said in an email that the
provision does not mention amateur radio towers specifically but
noted that owners of any communication tower that falls within the
law's criteria - but is not a meteorological evaluation tower - must
choose to either mark the tower or register it in the FAA
database.Towers are excluded from provision, however, if they are
already registered with the Federal Communications Commission under
the Antenna Structure Registration program. The database is being
developed by the FAA for pilots to consult before flying at low
altitudes and the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 requires it to be
in use by October.
K2B PREPS FOR WORLD SCOUT JAMBOREE
JIM/ANCHOR: It's summer and Radio Scouts are camping it up! We hear
more from Bill Stearns NE4RD.
BILL: This week in Radio Scouting we are in the middle of Summer
Camp Season and World Scout Jamboree kicks off officially in 10
days.
Walt Beattie, AA3WB, is continuing to activate K2BSA/3 from the Camp
Horseshoe Summer Camp in Rising Sun, MD. One day each week, usually
on Tuesdays, a portable amateur radio station will be activated from
approximately 10:00 am to 8:30 pm Eastern running voice and digital
operations.
Mike Newman, K3MJN, will be activating K3R from the Rodney Scout
Reservation in North East, MD from July 14th through the 20th. Troop
44, from Lititz, PA, will be heading to summer camp for the week and
decided to activate it. Catch them on the air next week!
The 24th World Scout Jamboree opens on July 22nd, however, the team
that will be supporting the Amateur Radio Operation, NA1WJ, will be
hitting the road and skyways this weekend and early next week to
begin setting up the station that will support the operation. With
radios from Icom America, antennas from DX Engineering and JK
Antennas, and supporting equipment from MFJ Enterprises and Geochron,
this will be a very well equipped and active station. Station
activation and testing begins towards the end of next week.
KICKER: HAM RADIO SIBLINGS DECLARE INDEPENDENCE ON JULY 4TH
JIM/ANCHOR: Finally, forget firecrackers. Here's a brother and
sister who celebrated America's independence the ham radio way --
and here's Kent Peterson KC0DGY with their story.
KENT: What could symbolize independence more than a balloon breaking
free of Earth's gravity and floating high on its own? Instead of
igniting the traditional firecrackers for America's Independence Day
on July 4th, a Georgia brother and sister launched two high altitude
balloons in their home city of Cumming.
Audrey McElroy KM4BUN, a high school sophomore, and her brother Jack
KM4ZIA, a sixth grader, sent up one balloon carrying a GoPro camera
and solar-powered transmitter that sent altitude, temperature and
GPS details. A smaller balloon went up transmitting Audrey's call
sign.
Jack told Newsline in an email he was excited to learn that his 20
metre beacon had been heard as far away as Kentucky and Indiana. He
wrote that it was proof his beacon was working well and how much
signal it put out, despite less than 1 watt of power. Audrey told
Newsline that the larger balloon reached 36.3 kilometres before
popping -- and the transmitter died a bit later. She wrote: {quote}
"We thought all hope was lost until we received a phone call from a
very nice couple who said they had found our balloon at New Hope
Baptist Church in Ackworth, Georgia." {endquote} She called the
launch "a very rewarding and enriching experience."
The siblings had previously assisted their father Tom W4SDR with his
own balloon projects. Now they can be proud that befitting the
Fourth of July, they've shared a moment of ham radio independence
THURSDAY EDITION: Our 440 digital repeater network has
added another repeater to the network, this one in Goffstown, NH. We
are now linked to 4 repeaters in Gloucester and Stoneham, MA as well
as Farmington and Goffstown, NH. You can also call in on your
digital hotspot using fusion thru the "Wolf Den" reflector...Simplex
gone bad in NY....
Powered by a Ram Hemi and driven by a proud
Marine...
HAManitarian Program announced
GECO (Grassroots Emergency Communications
Operations) created its HAManitarian Program integrating HAM
radio, Emergency Preparedness, Emergency Communications using
its brand of Community-based Education to develop and promote
community resilience to disasters while improving the quality of
primary to post-secondary education.
This is a holistic program based on collaborations of
government (national to local levels), with students, teachers,
civic organizations (local to international), businesses and
community volunteers.
You can get details of the HAManitarian program at
http://www.neighborhoodlink
.com/files/document/529252578
We are seeking volunteers to translate paper from English to
other languages. For Amateur radio clubs seeking ways to develop
the next generation of EmComm operators should consider this
approach. GECO volunteers are ready to collaborate with
interested groups to tailor the program to their needs.
ECO is an informal community-based education group of
volunteers. We are not a formal non-profit, but operate like a
non-profit. We work on a people-to-people basis. We do not
solicit outside funding. In the spirit of HAM radio, we freely
share our ideas with others based on mutual respect, mutual
benefit. We strive to make the world a better place through
friendship and understanding. FFI:
http://www.neighborhoodlink
.com/GECO
A group of Amateur Radio operators gathered at the Galt
library on June 15 to give kids from Galt the opportunity to
enjoy the fun of speaking on Ham Radio. Six children join the
group and had a great time speaking to amateur operators in the
local area.
This is an annual event sponsored by the Amateur Radio Relay
League, (ARRL). The event is held on the third weekend in June.
Amateur Radio operators across the U.S. invite kids to speak to
other kids or hams on radios.
The local hams that aided in the event were Bob Schuldheisz,
K6DGQ; Tom Daley, WA6OSX; Dennis Merritt, W6UHQ and Ron Russell,
KG7OR.
Watch for the announcement for Kids Day next year and bring
your children and friends to join others around the nation on
amateur radio.
Window Closing on July 15 for Volunteer Monitor Program
Applications...ARRL
As of the close of business on Monday, July 15, applications for
the new
Volunteer Monitor Program no longer will be
accepted. Some 250 applications have been submitted to fill
approximately 150 Volunteer Monitor (VM) positions in the
program, which is succeeding the Official Observer (OO) program.
Retired FCC special counsel and former Atlantic Division Vice
Director Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, is overseeing ARRL’s role
in the development and implementation of the program, and he has
been interviewing every applicant. Those not selected as VMs
will be placed in a reserve pool. Current OOs were invited to
apply for appointments. Approved by the ARRL Board of
Directors at its July 2018 meeting, the new Volunteer Monitor
Program represents a formal agreement between the FCC and ARRL
in which volunteers trained and vetted by ARRL will monitor the
airwaves and collect evidence that can be used to correct
misconduct as well as to recognize exemplary on-air operation.
ARRL will refer incidents of flagrant violations to the FCC for
action, in accordance with FCC guidelines, and the FCC will give
priority to enforcement cases developed by the Volunteer Monitor
Program. The FCC proposed the program following the closures of
several FCC regional office and a reduction in field staff.
ARRL and the FCC have signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) that establishes the Volunteer Monitor Program as a
replacement for the Official Observers.
The first Volunteer Monitors could be in place and ready to
begin their duties by this fall. Special Event Stations to Commemorate 50th Anniversary of the
Apollo Moon Landing...ARRL
A number of Amateur Radio special event stations will be (or
already are) on the air during July to mark the 50th anniversary
of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. The list
includes:
N8A, until July 24, Midwest VHF/UHF Society, West Chester,
Ohio; WB4ICJ, July 14 – 20, Kennedy Space Center; N1A, July 14 –
28, Milford (Ohio) Amateur Radio Club; N4A, July 16 – 25, NASA
Marshall Space Flight Center Amateur Radio Club; K2M, July 16 –
24, Great South By Amateur Radio Club (honoring those who built
the LEM on Long Island); K2CAM, July 16 – 24, Long Island Mobile
Amateur Radio Club;
N5A, July 18 – 21, Razorback Contest Club, Springdale,
Arkansas; W3A, July 18 – 23, the National Electronics Museum
Amateur Radio Club (K3NEM); W4A, July 19 – 21, Huntsville
(Alabama) Amateur Radio Club; K8QYL, July 20, Reservoir Amateur
Radio Association; K9MOT, July 20 – 21, Motorola Amateur Radio
Club; N0M, July 20 – 22, South East Metro Amateur Radio Club;
K1M, July 20 – 28, Stratford Amateur Radio Club; GB5EHL, until
July 28, Leicester Radio Society “Eagle Has Landed”
commemoration, and PA11APOLLO, until August 2, in the
Netherlands. WEDNESDAY EDITION: Boat day....
3919 FRIENDLY BUNCH GROUP AND RILEY HOLLINGSWORTH SCUFFLE LAST
NIGHT
Against my better judgment, I tuned the big dial to 3919 last
night and listened in from 9-930. They are a harmless group and I
listen in every once in while to listen to the cast of characters
talk about basically nothing but a little scuffle was going on. The
group is celebrating their second year of existence by meeting down
south in some state park and having a party complete with prizes,
cookout, etc...and a guest speaker, no less than Riley
Hollingsworth, the past FCC enforcement officer. As you might
know, if you check in nightly on a regular basis, you may be granted
a membership number by leader Bobby after being carefully screened
ensuring you have the qualities needed for this rag chew net.
That being said, leader Bobby said only members with a NUMBER will
be allowed to hear Riley Hollingsworth speak. It is a closed group
and others showing up will be asked to leave. Bobby went as far as
saying some other ham club asked if they could come and Bobby said
no, you can't come. A ham without a number chirped in and asked if
he thought Riley would think that was a "friendly" thing to
do. This is when Bobby had a little temper tantrum and went on and
on .....Toward the end of this shit show, Bobby finally softened by
adding anyone who really wanted to be a part of this group and
believed in the groups mission could attend but others would be
escorted out.
My take, it's your show, do whatever you want. Nothing wrong with
having a celebration and a key note speaker and limiting it to who
you want to attend.
Chinese CAS-7B Satellite Carrying an FM Transponder to Launch
Another Amateur Radio satellite is set to launch from China.
CAMSAT CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, reports that CAS-7B (BP-1B) is
expected to launch on July 22 at 0500 UTC, on the Hyperbola 1
vehicle. CAS-7B is a spherical spacecraft, 500 millimeters
(approximately 19.7 inches) in diameter with a mass of 3
kilograms (about 6.6 pounds). The CW telemetry beacon will be on
435.715 MHz. The V/U FM 16 kHz wide transponder downlink is
435.690 MHz, and the uplink is 145.900 MHz. The launch from
Jiuquan will be into a 300-kilometer (approximately 186-mile),
42.7° inclination orbit. Portuguese amateur
radio clubs reject 144-146 MHz proposal
On the July 6th, a group of seventeen (17) Portuguese Amateur
Radio Clubs had a meeting on the subject of the French proposal
PTA(19)090R1- at ECC/CEPT group PTA/CPG, meeting #7, regarding
the relocation of the frequency band 144-146 MHz, unanimously
decided:
1. Strongly reject the proposal put forward by France -
reference to the PTA(19)090R1- in the PTA / CPG, ECC / CEPT
(meeting # 7);
2. Request to the Portuguese Government to determine the vote
against the proposal PTA(19)090R1, in all instances of CEPT and
/ or ITU.
The associations also decided unanimously:
1. To adopt a joint document, demonstrating our reason, which
was signed by all the associations and that will be delivered to
the official entities, in the situations that have been
determined;
2. Name a group of six Amateurs (CT1BAT, CT1DBS, CT1DL,
CT1END, CT2IXQ), one of them being alternate (CT1FKF), which
will represent the associations in the acts which will take
place, with a view to the resolution of this, demonstrating
unity and determination in the defense of the spectrum allocated
to the amateur service and amateur satellite service.
Similarly, the associations unanimously mandated the
aforementioned group to be present at the meeting with ANACOM,
on the 15th of July and, in circumstances, and if it proves
necessary, to request urgent meetings to be held with members of
institutions and government, linked to regulation or with
tutelage in the area. TUESDAY EDITION: Another beautiful day here on Cape Ann.....A
little about Cape Ann: The port of Gloucester lands by far the
most lobster in the state — 2.99 million pounds, or 17.71% of the
state's commercial lobster catch — and is home to the most permitted
commercial lobstermen, 130. Rockport ranked fourth with 1.05 million
pounds, or 6.24% of state lobster landings......
EMAIL TODAY:
I WASN’T GOING TO SEND THIS, JON. I’LL PAY FOR IT. BUT I
CANNOT SIT IDLE.
I read with intense interest your popular web page for Monday,
taking particular notice of its pointedly back-handed
congratulations to the US Women’s Soccer Team for their
resounding victory in the World Cup. Again.
“…too bad they can’t keep their politics or their big mouths to
themselves,” you quickly smashed.
To which I reply, that victory gave them what Teddy Roosevelt
called a “bully pulpit,” which they surely earned. What would
you have them do, just go home and see to their husbands’ needs,
as befits “the little woman?” Tolerate being paid and treated by
their overlords as second class citizens to the men’s team,
which is proven fact?
But wait, there’s more. If this be treason, I will make the most
of it. Shut mouths? Had I my choice, I’d stitch the lips of
every half-witted right-wing zealot (another word comes to mind)
on Amateur Radio. Why is it they can spew the most ill-informed,
half-witted moronic “ideas," but should an opposing view be
proposed—and supported by actual fact and using the apostate’s
FCC callsign, of course—the opposer is instantly abused into
silence by a collective intellect the size of a pin?
I have little doubt these words, if published as seems likely,
will incite a firestorm. But it’s high time somebody told the
shitheads to STFU. Not that they ever will.
de KM1G QST Now Listing Code Proficiency Award Recipients
Starting with the August issue, QST will list the
recipients of W1AW
Code Proficiency
certificates. Key manufacturer
Vibroplex
now is sponsoring the certificates, which debut a new
design. The Code Proficiency program has been an ARRL staple
for decades. Participants who copy a
W1AW qualifying run and submit 1 minute
of legible solid copy and the $10 certificate fee can
qualify. Send submissions to W1AW Qualifying Run, 225 Main
St, Newington, CT USA 06111. These are checked directly
against the official W1AW text, and those demonstrating
solid copy will receive an initial Code Proficiency
certificate. Endorsement stickers, which cost $7.50, are
issued for speeds up to 40 WPM.
The W1AW Code Proficiency Program is open to hams and
non-hams alike. Those seeking to attain a Code Proficiency
certificate can listen to W1AW daily code practice sessions,
in which the text is taken directly from QST, as
announced before each practice run.
Reversed Polarity Sunspot ....might stop
some groups from excessive id'ing..
A reversed-polarity sunspot has broken through the surface of
the sun--the second time this month this has happened.
This latest "backwards sunspot" could mark the official
beginning of new Solar Cycle 25.
Visit today's edition of
Spaceweather.com to learn more about sunspot AR2744 and the
transition between solar cycles.
The August issue of Digital QST is Now Available!
The August issue of Digital QST is now available for
viewing on your desktop or laptop.
Click here to view the issue. It is also available for
reading on your Apple, Android, or Kindle Fire device. ● See
what was new at the 2019 Dayton Hamvention® and ARRL National
Convention.
● Explore the unique propagation on 630 and 2,200 meters.
● Create your own PC board layouts with free software.
● Take a journey to Mt Athos.
…and much more!
Enjoy Content You Won’t Find in the Print Edition…
● See our video overview of the NEX-GEN XD4 Portable Spot II
Award for Top Homebrew Designers in
Amateur Radio announced
Homebrew Heroes Award to be given annually
Today, the ICQ Podcast (icqpodcast.com)
announced a partnership in the founding of the
Homebrew Heroes Award by three members of the
podcast.
This annual award is to recognize persons, groups or
organizations who help define the frontiers in amateur radio
technology through the long-standing tradition of “homebrew”
construction. It is housed at the separate website,
homebrewheroes.org.
“We felt that with all of the technical homebrew activity
in amateur radio today that there should be a means by which
to identify and highlight those whose technical creativity
has made a clear impact on the hobby,” said Frank Howell,
FCC Call Sign K4FMH at ICQ Podcast (icqpodcast.com).
“Our recent visit to the Hamvention conference in Xenia, OH
convinced us that the traditional homebrew craft and science
is alive and well,” said Martin Butler, M1MRB from London.
“But there was no clear means to bring additional and
independent attention to the fruits of their labour,” added
Colin Butler M6BOY, of County Kilkenny, Ireland.
“My background in strategic marketing and information
technology led me to believe that the time was right for
such an award,” he added.
Howell stated, “If you look at some of the workbenches for
many successful homebrew entrepreneurs, their equipment is
vintage, to say the least, so our awards program may assist
them in getting corporate support through donated products
to enhance their future ability in this maker-space.”
The new awards program is independent of the ICQ Podcast
but these three podcast members comprise the Steering
Committee for the annual award. These include Martin Butler
M1MRB, Colin Butler M6BOY, and Frank Howell K4FMH. The ICQ
Podcast is a promotional partner in this endeavour while the
Homebrew Heroes website is maintained by Howell.
“The idea for this awards program originated while we
attended, for the first time, the Hamvention in Xenia, OH.
It struck the three of us that this was another way to give
back to the hobby,” said Martin Butler.
Other podcasters in the homebrew electronics maker space
have applauded this new program. Jeremy Kolonay KJ7IJZ,
co-host of the wildly popular Ham Radio Workbench (hamradioworkbench.com)
said, “When I heard about this new award program, I was very
excited. The homebrew electronics community in amateur radio
has grown tremendously as our biweekly podcast has attempted
to track and encourage. It’s really important to have a way
to recognize and promote excellence achieved by the most
successful participants.”
“Commercial companies have begun signing on to donate
prizes to the future recipient,” said Howell.
“Digilent Inc., a National Instruments Company, immediately
told us that they would contribute their highly successful
Analog Discovery 2 test device. Kaitlyn Franze, Software and
Hardware Product Manager with Digilent, said, “When I
learned that this was being planned, I immediately said that
Digilent would like to be a corporate prize sponsor. Our
market base has been significantly impacted by amateur radio
operators who design and build equipment in this maker
space. Digilent is proud to be on board with the Homebrew
Heroes Award Program.” Other companies have expressed
positive interest and are evaluating the right product to
donate. Howell added, “We anticipate that this donor list
will grow with the awareness of the awards program.”
Founded in 2008, ICQ Podcast (icqpodcast.com) is one of
the more successful amateur radio podcasts in the world. It
is published every two weeks and has a team of a dozen
international presenters on the podcast, based in the United
Kingdom.
For more information on the Homebrew Heroes Award:
https://homebrewheroes.org
Propagation on West Coast- ARRL
British Columbia radio amateur Alex Schwarz, VE7DXW, said that
an Independence Day magnitude 6.4 earthquake in California’s
Mojave Desert and multiple aftershocks negatively affected HF
propagation on the US west coast. Schwarz, who maintains the “ RF
Seismograph” and has drawn a correlation between
earthquake activity and HF band conditions, said the radio
disruption began at around 1600 UTC on July 4, and continued
into July 5. He said that on July 4, the blackout was total
except for 20 meters, where conditions were “severely
attenuated,” Schwarz said. The RF Seismograph also detected the
magnitude 7.1 earthquake on July 6 in the same vicinity, Schwarz
reported. The distance between the monitoring station in
Vancouver, British Columbia, and that quake’s epicenter is 1,240
miles. “Things are back to normal after the strong quake, as
far as the ionosphere is concerned, but the unrest has not
stopped yet,” Schwarz told ARRL on July 8. “There were over
7,000 mostly small quakes, and these do not seem to have the
energy to effect the ionosphere. We all hope that this will
settle down soon.” Schwarz said the RF Seismometer detected a
magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Indonesia.
Over the holiday weekend, Schwarz had reported “a massive
short-wave radio blackout” on the west coast. “It is not caused
by the sun (the sun is quiet), but the field lines of the
’quakes themselves,” he said. A magnitude 6.2 earthquake took
place off Vancouver Island, British Columbia, on July 4.
On July 6, Schwarz said, the RF Seismograph showed an
increase in noise on 80 meters some 13 hours beforehand, as well
as some propagation changes on 40 and 30 meters — low before the
quake and increasing in its wake. Increases in noise on 15 and
10 meters were detected some 10 hours before the earthquake,
diminishing about 3 hours afterward. In addition, noise level
and propagation changes on 20 meters some 3 hours before the
earthquake.
Schwarz said larger quakes spur longer periods of 80-meter
noise which cross the day/night boundary. “The difficulty is the
80 meter noise difference between day and night, which is hard
to subtract from the graphs,” he added. With earthquakes of
lesser magnitude (4.0 to 5.9), the RF Seismograph displays the
rise and fall typically within daytime or nighttime propagation,
making it more obvious. “The measurement on the other bands is
more consistent, and the quake can have either an amplifying or
attenuating effect on propagation,” Schwarz told ARRL.
All of the earthquakes of the past few days occurred within a
4-square-mile area in and around Ridgecrest in San Bernardino
County. Several injuries were reported, along with property
damage. ARES and the Sierra Amateur Radio Club (SARC) have
actively supported communications during the earthquake swarm
and magnitude 7.1 quake in and around Ridgecrest, in the Mojave
Desert. “Many club members are busy collecting information,
running an emergency net, as well as staffing a back-up
communication van,” Mike Herr, WA6ARA, told ARRL on July 7.
The RF Seismograph propagation tool employs an
omnidirectional multiband antenna to monitor JT65 frequencies
(±10 kHz) on 80, 40, 30, 20, 15, and 10 meters. Recorders
monitor the background noise and display the result in six
color-coded, long-duration graphs displaying 6 hours of scans.
When signals are present on a band, its graph trace starts to
resemble a series of vertical bars.
The RF Seismograph recorded the magnitude 7.5 earthquake in
Ecuador on February 22. Schwarz
recounted that noise on 15 meters began to
be visible about 1 hour before the quake; then, 2 hours after
the quake released, 15 meters started to recover. It did not
affect 80 meters. “The earthquakes show up as RF noise because
of the electric field lines, now scientifically confirmed to
change the way the ionosphere reflects RF,” Schwarz said.
Schwarz has cited an article in the October 2018 edition of
Scientific American, which, he says, explains the
phenomenon. (See Erik Vance’s “Earthquakes
in the sky,” Scientific American, October
2018, p. 44.)
The Scientific American article explores measurements
in Japan and how earthquakes can create electric field lines
that extend into the atmosphere. Schwarz said 171 earthquakes —
all magnitude 6.0 events or greater — were studied, and only 15
of them had no RF noise associated with them.
RF Seismograph is now a
project on Scistarter.com, facilitated
through Arizona State University. Contact
Schwarz
for additional information.
“The QSL Man” Wayne Carroll, W4MPY, SK - ARRL
“The QSL Man” Wayne Carroll, W4MPY, of Aiken, South
Carolina, died on July 3. An ARRL member, he was 87. For
many years, starting in the 1970s, “Wimpy” — as he was known
— and his late wife Lola, N4KAI, started what he called “a
part-time business” printing QSL cards from his home, which
he continued into retirement. First licensed in 1949 as
W5QDF in his native Texas, he became W4MPY after relocating.
A serious CW DXer, Carroll studied electrical engineering at
Texas Tech.
Happy 150th - Hiram Percy Maxim Birthday
Celebration
The ARRL is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of
ARRL’s first president and co-founder Hiram Percy Maxim
(HPM), W1AW, born on September 2nd, 1869.
The ARRL will hold an operating event this summer to celebrate
HPM’s legacy from 0000 UTC on August 31st, and continue until 2359
UTC on September 8th. It is open to all radio amateurs.
W1AW and all ARRL members will append “/150” to
their callsigns during this event (DX operators who are ARRL members
may operate as <call sign>/150, if permitted by their country of
license.)
For more details, see the ARRL Web page at:
http://www.arrl.org/news/view/arrl-announces-happy-150-hiram-percy-maxim-birthday-celebration
What next? MAD magazine is finally shutting down
after 60 years of publishing...
MONDAY EDITION: Nice win for the US women's soccer team, too
bad they cant keep their politics and big mouths to themselves. I
guess we cant agree to disagree anymore, hence the great divide
between the left and the right extremes....
APRS balloons launched for Independence Day celebrations
For the July 4th festivities, radio amateur Audrey
McElory KM4BUN and her brother Jack KM4ZIA
launched high altitude balloons transmitting APRS on 144.390 MHz
FM
The Forsyth County News reports:
Once Thursday’s parade through downtown has concluded, siblings
Audrey, a rising sophomore at Forsyth Central High School, and
Jack, a rising sixth-grader at Otwell Middle School, are leading
the launch of a pair of balloons with radio equipment from the
fairgrounds.
The McElroys have already passed the required training and
testing to earn an amateur – or ham – radio operator’s license
from the Federal Communications Commission and have experience
helping their dad, Tom W4SDR, launch balloons, but this will be
the first time the kids are running the show.
“It was intimidating at first thinking, ‘How are we going to get
this together? How is this going to work?’’’ Audrey said of the
planning process. “Once we got down to it, it wasn’t as much as
we thought it would be. We just had to get a few things ironed
out, especially with one of the radios we’re using.”
Read the full story at
https://www.forsythnews.com/local/why-these-siblings-are-launching-balloons-during-fourth-july-festivities/
2 meter propagation experiment
VERON organizes a 2 meter propagation experiment
on July 20, 2019 from 17:00 utc to 19:00 utc. All radio amateurs
from all over the world are invited to participate in this
experiment.
Make QSO's on the 2 meter band in the mode you like.
Supply the log to clublog.org befor august 1. It is not a contest,
just have fun and give realistic reports.
Check our website for more information
https://www.veron.nl/nieuws/2-meter-propagatie-experiment/
Restraint Urged in Response to 2-Meter Reallocation Proposal
Representatives of International Amateur Radio Union (IARU)
member-societies in Europe are advising restraint in the wake of
a proposal to consider the allocation of 146 – 148 MHz to the
Aeronautical Mobile Service (AMS) at World Radiocommunication
Conference 2023 (WRC-23). France recently raised the prospect
during a European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications
Administrations ( CEPT)
meeting in Prague, held in advance of WRC-19. A WRC-19 agenda
item would call for studying a range of frequencies for AMS
applications, including 144 – 146 MHz, and a decision could be
made at WRC-23. The French draft resolution seeks studies of
possible new AMS primary allocations in several bands in the
range from 144 MHz to 22.2 GHz on a primary basis, “while
ensuring the protection of existing services in those bands and,
as appropriate, adjacent bands, and not constraining future
development of these services.”
The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) released a
statement last week, in part pointing that
as proposed, the French resolution “is not an eviction or
re-allocation of amateurs, but nonetheless is unwelcome and
presents significant challenges. Unlike some other bands where
amateurs do share, aeronautical applications are amongst the
most difficult due to the altitudes and long free-space
distances involved.”
Any consideration to allocate additional services in a band
that’s already allocated on a primary basis to an incumbent
service — Amateur Radio, in this case — must begin with a
sharing/compatibility study. The IARU has expressed “grave
concern” to any proposal that would include 144 – 146 MHz in a
WRC agenda item and has pledged to make every effort to fully
protect Amateur Radio interests and seek the support of
regulators.
At the Prague meeting, only Germany opposed the proposal,
which has been carried forward to the higher-level CEPT
Conference Preparatory Group (CPG) meeting in August. Support
from at least 10 CEPT administrations and fewer than six in
opposition would move the issue forward as a CEPT resolution,
making it highly likely that it would appear on the agendas of
WRC-19 and WRC-23.
In a post to the Moon-Net news group, Deutscher (German)
Amateur Radio Club (DARC) Frequency Manager Bernd Mischlewski,
DF2ZC, stressed the importance that Amateur Radio speak with a
single voice and asked the Amateur Radio community to refrain
from contacting individual administrations or the EU.
“This would weaken our position and take away power and vigor
from the systematic approach by IARU and country Amateur Radio
societies,” Mischlewski said. “This particularly applies [to]
online petitions.” One frantic petition that’s collecting both
signatures and donations calls on hams to “Stop the 2 Meter Band
(144 – 146 MHz) being taken away from Radio Amateurs,” which is
not what the draft French resolution would do. Mischlewski
speculated that the primary reason for the scant opposition at
Prague was the revised French proposal’s last-minute arrival.
“Consequently, most other European countries had no time for
internal discussions, let alone formulating their position,”
Mischlewski said.
With the support of regulatory experts among its
member-societies, IARU “is intensively working on executing
their influence within the current process and trying to keep
the 2-meter band as it is now,” Mischlewski said. He pointed out
that funding for these activities comes from IARU
member-societies. “So, those who left their country’s Amateur
Radio society should perhaps reconsider their decision,” he
added. “Without the commitment and the funds, the Amateur Radio
community would have little influence in that process, let alone
could be present at the relevant meetings.”
RSGB VHF Manager John Regnault, G4SWX, in a related Moon-Net
post, said the flood of “fake news” on the issue propagated via
social media and online petitions does not help Amateur Radio’s
position.
“All IARU member societies have been briefed on a common
position and messages for Amateur Radio,” Regnault said. “This
message is not helped by the many wrong messages abounding on
social media. IARU represents Amateur Radio in the various CEPT
forums and ITU, and [it] will fight to maintain the best
position it can for Amateur Radio. Progress will be slow, but I
am hopeful that, in the end we will get a good result.”
ARRL ARTICLE WEEKEND EDITION: My better half's 50th Rockport High
School Reunion tonight, most of them never left the island .....
Foundations of Amateur Radio #213
The Software Defined Radio vs. Traditional Radio
choice
For some time I've been explaining how some of the internal workings
of a Software Defined Radio operate with a view to getting into the
nitty gritty of the why and the how. This exploration is happening
within the context of a world where there are countless choices for
selecting a radio to match your budget. Increasingly that selection
process starts with a simple question: Should I purchase a Software
Defined Radio or a traditional radio?
This is not a new question, previously it may have been: Should I
select a radio with transistors or one with valves? Presumably the
same happened when your ancestors faced a choice to buy a new car or
update their horse and carriage. Of course I'm being flippant, but
the point stands, as things evolve, choices change. Today we don't
know what comes after the Software Defined Radio that we currently
know, but it's likely to force the same selection on future
generations of radio amateurs.
So, if you're in the market for a new radio, what things should you
consider in your selection?
SDR is becoming pervasive, that is, the more you look, the more
you'll find. Much like transistors overtook valves, not because
they're better, but because there's a smaller component count and
related price advantage.
SDR come in all forms, from nondescript black boxes to a traditional
radio form factor and everything in-between.
If you choose a black box model SDR, there are tools around that
allow you to use external controllers to provide knobs and buttons.
These external controllers might be a fully-fledged radio head, or
it might be using an external USB connected knob to change the
frequency, or you might integrate your solution with a DJ Console, a
big panel with lots of knobs, sliders and dials, repurposed as a
user interface for your radio.
The software behind most SDR platforms appears to continuously be in
a state of rapid development. This means that every update
potentially gives you more functionality. Of course the opposite is
also true, things break, get taken away, get redeveloped, in ways
that may be unexpected or unwanted.
In my opinion, there's an awful lot of crap software around,
attempting to use a computer screen to emulate a physical
environment, forcing you to use a mouse to turn a knob, or slide a
slider. It's getting better, but so far I've not seen a single
solution that does this all well. That's not to say that there
aren't any innovative things happening either. For example,
something I've mentionned in the past, is the user interface for the
diversity receive function inside PowerSDR. You set the phase angle
and the strength by pulling on a line inside a circle.
There's plenty of open source software around, and functionally it's
pretty good. Fortunately Windows is not your only option, Mac OS and
Linux provide many opportunities.
Traditional radios have not finished, nor are they likely to go the
way of the Dodo anytime soon, but while people are getting excited,
you can pick up bargains from those migrating away from traditional
radio to SDR.
If your selection is based on using a computer or not, there's
things to use your computer for with a traditional radio, numerous
and growing digital modes and other cool stuff to get your teeth
into.
I should mention that there are radios about that are both
traditional and SDR, so you can have the best (or worst) of both.
My recommendation is to set a budget and see what that buys you.
Regardless of what you end up with, your requirements will evolve.
DX Engineering Announces DXE Hamfest with
Free Flea Market, August 10, 2019
DX Engineering will be holding its first “DXE Hamfest” on
Saturday, August 10, featuring a free flea market,
giveaways, special discounts, a Go-Kit contest, and
satellite operation demonstrations.
The event will take place in DX Engineering’s showroom
inside the Summit Racing Retail Super Store in Tallmadge,
Ohio near Akron from 9 am to noon. The free flea market will
run from 8 am to noon in Summit Racing’s paved North parking
lot.
Ham Radio enthusiasts can meet and mingle with colleagues
from the region, sample the latest Amateur Radio gear, and
get their technical questions answered by DX Engineering’s
team of Elmers. Enjoy refreshments and these activities:
* Expert demonstrations on how to contact Amateur Radio
satellites. Get your questions answered from an experienced
satellite operator.
* Enter to win an ICOM IC-9700 VHF/UHF/1.2 GHz
Transceiver.**
* A $100 DX Engineering Gift Card will be awarded to the
club or individual who brings in the best functional
Emergency Go-Kit. Please bring Go-Kits to the DX Engineering
Showroom for judging.
* Big discounts on open-box Amateur Radio equipment.
* Save with Hamfest Specials on Amateur Radio gear from top
manufacturers.
Talk with ARRL representatives who will be hosting a booth
at the Hamfest. Amateur operators are encouraged to check
in to the N8DXE Repeater at 146.985 MHz—no PL tone required.
More details on Hamfest will be announced on
DXEngineering.com and on the
DX Engineering Facebook page.
Questions? Contact DXEngineering@DXEngineering.com.
Amateur Radio Newsline Report...rehash of the
news
UNPRECEDENTED 2-WAY QSO WITH TRANSPONDER IN LUNAR ORBIT
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: On the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing, the
moon is back in the news in a big way - this time it's making
amateur radio headlines with a ham in Germany who achieved a "first"
on Tuesday, July 2nd. Ed Durrant DD5LP picks up that story.
ED: An unprecedented two-way contact has been made from an amateur
radio operator here on Earth via a transponder orbiting the moon.
Reinhard Kuehn DK5LA logged the QSO with BG2BHC via DSLWP-B, which
was launched by China as secondary payload on the lunar relay
satellite on May 20 2018.
Wei BG2BHC was at the Club station of the Harbin Institute of
Technology, BY2HIT in northern China. The Harbin Institute had
announced earlier that QSL cards had been designed for different
phases of the DSLWP mission's flight in hopes hams would get
involved in receiving telemetry or making contacts.
Writing in his blog, Spanish engineer and researcher Daniel Estevez
EA4GPZ/M0HXM noted that difficulties in using the GMSK-to-JT4G
repeater, particularly in respect to signal power, needed to be
overcome on the uplink. Daniel noted that Reinhard had hoped to
achieve the contact some months earlier but it was not possible.
With barely a month to go before DSLWP-B crash-lands on the surface
of the moon, he extended his congratulations to Reinhard for the
confirmed contact.
LIGHTSAIL2 TALKS TO MISSION CONTROL IN CALIF.
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: More excitement in space: A very jubilant team at
mission control in California has heard the first signals from
Lightsail 2, a crowdfunded CubeSat that had been sent into space on
June 25 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX
Falcon Heavy rocket.
According to the Planetary Society website, the mission team
received the first signals from its CW beacon on the 2nd of July at
0834 UTC as it passed over California Polytechnic State University
in San Luis Obispo, home to mission control. Built by students at
Georgia Tech, Lightsail2 is a project of the Planetary Society and
hopes to be the first spacecraft to orbit Earth while propelled by
sunlight. Listeners will hear a beacon packet transmitted every few
seconds. Once decoded it will become 238 lines of text telemetry
describing the spacecraft's health, battery status and other
relevant details. The spacecraft will transmit its call sign WM9XPA
every 45 seconds on 437.025 MHz, which is within the amateur radio
70-centimeter band.
SABLE ISLAND DXPEDITION MAKING PROGRESS
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: An encouraging word has come for another DXpedition
off the Canadian shore, as we hear from Kent Peterson KC0DGY.
KENT: The green light for the Sable Island DXpedition just got a
little greener: The team's leader, Murray WA4DAN, will be making a
trip in October to prepare for the 2020 activation on the remote
crescent-shaped island in the North Atlantic, which is one of
Canada's farthest offshore islands and a national park reserve.
Murray will be making the trip in October to review logistics with
Parks Canada personnel. Of particular concern are the wild horses
inhabiting the island, as well as the seals, birds and vegetation
that must not be disturbed while the ham radio team is active. The
team will be required to flag all its guy wires and antennas and to
use extra care routing coax to the antennas. Accessible only by boat
or airplane, Sable Island is known for its fragile ecosystem.
SILENT KEY: FORMER IARU REGIONAL DIRECTOR SANGAT SINGH 9M2SS
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: A satellite enthusiast and leader in Malaysia's ham
community has become a Silent Key. Jason Daniels VK2LAW tells us
more.
JASON: A former director of Region 3 of the International Amateur
Radio Union and former member of the Malaysian Government's Space
Committee has become a Silent Key. Sangat Singh 9M2SS, who was first
licensed in 1962, was also a satellite enthusiast since the
mid-1980s when he first began to track them. He later operated a
Satellite Ground Station that regularly made radio contacts between
schoolchildren and hams aboard the International Space Station
through the ARISS programme. According to his profile on QRZ.COM, he
was an active operator on all current digital mode amateur
satellites. He had served the IARU's Region 3 as director from 1987
to 2000.
Sangat had distinguished himself in his professional career as the
first Sikh to do planting at rubber plantations in Malaysia. He
eventually became a senior plantation manager, a position he retired
from in 1988. He was also a pioneer member of the nonprofit Sikh
Naujawan Sabha Malaysia, a youth organization for Sikhs in Malaysia.
A native of what is now Pakistan, Sangat Singh was 86.
SILENT KEY: RTTY CONTESTER, REFLEcTOR MODERATOR BILL TURNER W6WRT
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: RTTY contesters and visitors to the RTTY Reflector
discussion group are grieving the loss of an amateur who played a
major role among those using the mode. Bill Turner, W6WRT, has
become a Silent Key. Licensed since 1957 at the age of 14, he was
drawn later to RTTY contesting and DXing. He wrote on his QR Zed
profile page that he was especially fond of the challenge of RTTY on
160 meters and had been hoping for a Worked All States award there.
He moderated the RTTY Reflector, one of the oldest discussion groups
on the internet, between 2007 and 2016. The California resident was
reported inactive for the past year.
Bill was 77.
MARS MEMBERS UPBEAT OVER RECENT NATIONAL EMERGENCY DRILL
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The U.S. Mililtary Auxiliary Radio System has just
completed an important drill - and Paul Braun WD9GCO fills us in.
PAUL: Amateur radio operators and MARS stations - part of the U.S.
Military Auxiliary Radio System - reaffirmed their cooperation with
the U.S. Department of Defense during a nationwide emergency
preparedness exercise. Known as COMEX 19-2, the 48-hour drill
carried the code name "Fog of War" and presented MARS members with
an additional challenge requiring that they operate off the grid for
the first 24 hours as they received traffic from hams around the
country and passed it along encrypted to defense offices. Michael J
Molloy W9MJM, the national public information officer for MARS Air
Force, said that the exercise posed additional challenges to radio
readiness by introducing security breaches into the exercise,
requiring operators to correctly identify some of the fake military
call signs in use. Michael said that with no specific hour
identified as the official start of the drill, operators were also
given very little time to prepare - just 12 hours' prior notice that
activity was to commence at the time of local sunrise, a start time
that varied depending on operators' location. Michael, who also
holds the military call signs AFN9I and AFA9BV, said that while it
will still take more time to compile and assess all the activity
between June 18th and 21st, participation was up among members of
both Army and Air Force MARS. Michael told Newsline in a phone call:
{quote} "From the preliminary results, we are very happy with how it
went." [endquote}
AUSTRALIAN AUTHORITIES SEEK COMMENT ON AMATEUR RADIO ISSUES
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Authorities in Australia are waiting to hear hams'
thoughts on a number of licensing issues. Graham Kemp VK4BB has that
story.
GRAHAM: The Australian Communications and Media Authority has
invited public comment on a number of requests from ham radio
operators. They include a proposal that would allow Foundation class
licencees to operate rigs that are homebrew or made from kits -- a
permission which they are presently denied. The proposal would also
give Foundation licensees access to digital modes such as D-STAR,
DMR and Fusion, as well as digital data mode such as FT8, PSK31 and
RTTY, from which they are presently restricted. Along with the
latter request is a proposal that a new call sign structure for
Foundation licencees be created in place of the 4-letter one which
is not compatible with operating digital.
The regulator is also looking for further input on changing power
levels for Foundation and Standard class licensees. The ACMA is not
against permitting 400 watts PEP output and access to all primary
amateur bands for all classes of licence however they note that the
AR community may prefer to preserve the graduated power allowances
and band access restrictions currently in place to differentiate
between licence classes to maintain the incentive to progress to
higher licence levels.
NEW COORDINATOR TAKES ON LEADERSHIP FOR DIRECTION-FINDING
COMPETITION
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: The United States has a new coordinator for Amateur
Radio Direction Finding, as we hear in this report from Newsline's
Joe Moell (MELL), K-zero-O-V
JOE: The League's president has appointed Jerry Boyd, WB8WFK as
ARRL's new ARDF Coordinator, effective July first. Jerry has been
involved in the sport for many years and has been a frequent medal
winner at USA's championships. He led the organizers of USA's ARDF
championships in 2001, 2005 and 2011 in his home town of
Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was on ARDF Team USA that traveled to
the ARDF World Championships of 2004, 2006 and 2010.
The ARRL ARDF Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that USA's
national championships take place every year. He leads the selection
of the members of USA's team for the World Championships in
even-numbered years, and he works with his counterparts in other
countries to promote the sport of on-foot transmitter hunting under
international rules.
WB8WFK replaces Joe Moell K0OV (yes that's me!), who has served as
ARDF Coordinator since 1998. Championship ARDF has taken place here
in the states every year since then, and participation continues to
increase. This year's championships take place near Raleigh, North
Carolina with practice sessions starting on July 28 and championship
events beginning August 1. Sponsors are members of the Backwoods
Orienteering Klub, led by Joseph Huberman K5JGH and Ruth Bromer
WB4QZG. Anyone who can safely travel through the woods with a map,
compass and direction finding equipment is eligible to attend and
compete.
Find out more about how you can participate in ARDF and this year's
championships on the web at www.homingin.com. That's HomingIn, as
one word. I hope to see you at an ARDF event soon. From southern
California, this is Joe Moell K0OV for Amateur Radio Newsline.
IARU REGION 2 INTRODUCES YOUTH ON THE AIR
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Region 2 of the IARU has launched an array of
activities for ham radio's youngest contesters, scholars and Scouts.
Neil Rapp WB9VPG has that story.
NEIL: You've heard of Youngsters on the Air in IARU Region 1? Well
Youth on the Air has arrived in IARU Region 2. If you're looking for
information for young people in amateur radio, be sure to stop by
YOTAregion2.org. The new web site has links to all youth activities
including the YARC Youth Contesting Program, Radio Scouting, Youth
DX Adventure, Scholarships, Newsline's own Young Ham of the Year
Award, and more. The group also has accounts on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and YouTube to promote youth activity and announce
upcoming events from a variety of hosts. Look for YOTA Region 2 on
these social media outlets.
WORLD OF DX
In the World of DX, be listening throughout the month of July for
members of the Asociacion de Radioaficionados in Spain using the
call sign (AY-OH-FIVE-ZERO-EM-OH-OH-EN) AO50MOON to celebrate the
50th anniversary of APOLLO 11 moon landing. QSL via EA1RCI, direct
or by the Bureau.
In the Mariana Islands, be listening for KH0/KC0W, using the call
sign K0W from Saipan until the 14th of July. QSL direct to his home
callsign.
Rick, AI5P, will be active as FO/AI5P from French Polynesia between
July 22nd and 29th. Be listening on 40 metres through 17 metres
where he will be using
CW and FT8. QSL via AI5P, direct or by the Bureau.
Shigeru, JI3CEY, will be active as JI3CEY/0 from a new Island on the
Air -- Sado Island -- between July 20th and 22nd. Activity will be
holiday style on various HF bands using CW and SSB. QSL via his home
callsign.
KICKER: WORKING ALL BRITAIN, HELPING ALL WHO NEED IT
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our final story is about a grid-square activation in
Northern Ireland that turned into a rescue effort. Here's Jeremy
Boot G4NJH.
JEREMY: Perhaps no one could have taken the motto of the Worked All
Britain Awards more seriously than Esther Harper GI0AZA {pronounced
GEE-EYE-ZERO-A-ZED-A}. The Worked All Britain group, an affiliated
member of the Radio Society of Great Britain, operates in the spirit
of selflessness with the motto "To assist others."
Esther, a member of the RAYNET North West Northern Ireland emergency
comms group, acted in the spirit of that motto while activating grid
squares from Fermanagh with her husband Ian GI0AZB {pronounced
GEE-EYE-ZERO-A-ZED-Bee}. She had just finished a QSO on 40 metres
when she heard a call for help on the frequency. Richard Haynes
MW6RBH was reporting that an injured cyclist in a remote part of
Wales needed assistance but the area lacked mobile phone coverage.
He provided the grid reference to Esther who reached emergency
services and asked that an Air Ambulance be sent
The injured cyclist was airlifted out within the hour. Esther told
Newsline {quote} "Richard was fantastic in that he was able to
provide such accurate information regarding the location." {endquote}
No doubt the couple's son Joe 2I0JIE {pronounced
TWO-EYE-ZERO-JAY-EYE-EEE} and daughter Jen MI6JHE {pronounced
EM-EYE-SIX-JAY-AITCH-EEE} are feeling proud too -- and there's no
doubt too that the unnamed cyclist is grateful -- and hopefully on
the mend by now.
FRIDAY EDITION: It was 80 and breezy at the beach today, no
radio, and late start with the news....With a sad heart, I
wanted to pass on that Wayne, W4MPY passed away earlier today. His
wife, N4KAI passed away a year ago. Together they made up the "QSL
by W4MPY" team for many years, and printed many of my cards. RIP
Wayne...Congratulations to Dave-N1EDU at HRO, he is getting married
this week....Patriots Ted Bruschi suffered another stroke, hope he
recovers soon, helluva player....
HYBRID RADIO
The term hybrid radio refers to
platforms to provide a seamless combination of broadcast radio and
internet technologies. (It is not to be confused with the term
“hybrid” that is sometimes used to describe the dual analog/digital
format in which most HD Radio stations broadcast.)
A hybrid of broadcast radio and
internet connectivity, experts say, will offer radio listeners many
benefits. The players in this hybrid radio ecosystem include
familiar names like RadioDNS and
Xperi, both promoting
applications that combine broadcast and IP technologies. Efforts by
the National Association of
Broadcasters’ Pilot initiative are also playing an integral role
in development, participants say.
Their research involves finding
ways to link a “fetched” stream address from available broadcast
services with over-the-air broadcast hardware, work that coincides
with the growth of built-in connectivity in automobiles.
LINK
Worked All RST special event
Members of the North Country DX Association (NCDXA club K7ICE)
will be on HF celebrating their 5th Annual 'Worked All RST'
special event starting Jan. 1, 2020, running through February 28th.
Phone, CW and all the Digital modes will be covered from northern
North America promoting Amateur Radio!
Full color QSLs and free certificates are available. QSL manager
is K7ICE (please see QSL instructions for K7ICE at QRZ.com).
Alaska KL7RST operators are: Donn/KL7DG (Kotlik school),
Corliss/AL1G (Anchorage), Ron/KL7YK (Anchorage), Tim/NL8F (Dutch
Harbor) and Bill/KL7IDA (Tok).
Canadian operators: VY1RST - Bob/VY1MB (Whitehorse); VE8RST -
Garth/VE8NSD (Hay River); VY0RST - Pierre/VE3KTB/VY0 and Alex/
VE1RUS/VY0 (Eureka), Mike/VY0CF (Rankin Inlet); "wildcard" operator
Chris/ VE3CBK as N1RAC/VE3 and OX7RST by Bo/OZ1DJJ.
Of special interest, the students from Kotlik school (KL7RST) will
be gaining air time while obtaining their Amateur Radio permits.
Operators Pierre and Alex coming on from 80N, Eureka on Ellesmere
Island (VY0RST), and Tim (KL7RST) operating from the 2nd rock out on
the end of Alaska’s Aleutian Chain.
For more details and a free RST certificate, see:
https://www.qrz.com/lookup/K7ICE
JULY 4TH EDITION: What a perfect weather day today to
celebrate the holiday and parade...Health
care in Maine leaves a little to be desired, only thing worse is
the VA Hospital....Who shouldn't be playing with
fireworks?.....
Scientist Cathryn Mitchell, M0IBG, Honored for Ionospheric
Imaging Research
Cathryn Mitchell, M0IBG, the academic director of the University
of Bath Doctoral College in the UK, has received the 2019 Edward
Appleton Medal and Prize for her pioneering research in
tomography and data assimilation that revealed a completely new
perspective on the ionosphere in response to extreme space
weather. “Mitchell innovated a completely new Earth
observation technique by adapting medical tomography to image
the Earth’s ionosphere, thus revealing the dynamics of the
near-Earth space environment,” an
announcement on the Institute of Physics (IOP)
website explained. “Her use of Global Positioning System
satellite signals as a source for space weather tomography,
through a new time-dependent mathematical inversion algorithm,
has given us the first global-scale view of the ionosphere in
response to space weather storms.”
The award’s namesake, Edward Appleton, won the 1947 Nobel
Prize in Physics for his 1924 work that proved the existence of
the ionosphere. Radio amateurs participated in listening tests
during the early 1920s that provided data regarding how radio
signals propagate.
According to the award announcement, Mitchell’s research
“fundamentally changed” the understanding of the ionosphere. Her
deep-field experimental work to collect tomographic radio
signals has taken her to both poles and altered the
understanding of the relationship between plasma density
irregularities and optical aurora, leading to the discovery of
disruptive radio propagation effects on satellite signals used
for navigation and timing. The research could help to improve
the accuracy and reliability of satellite navigation systems.
Mitchell holds a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Knowledge Exchange Fellowship and recently acted in advisory
roles for UK and US governmental bodies and for the European
Space Agency. She is the author of more than 100 journal papers,
and her tomography algorithms are licensed to other research
organizations in the UK and around the world.
“She continues to pioneer new observation techniques, this
year producing the first ever single-frequency Geostationary GPS
ionospheric measurements,” the IOP announcement said.
“Mitchell’s innovations in tomographic imaging have crossed
traditional discipline boundaries and are now applied in other
fields including medical imaging, nuclear imaging, and
cosmic-ray muon tomography.” Historic Amateur Radio Contact Reported via Moon-Orbiting
Satellite
A contact between a radio amateur in Germany and China took
place on July 1 via the moon-orbiting LO-94 satellite, DSLWP-B,
launched in May 2018. The two-way exchange between Reinhard
Kuehn, DK5LA, in Soerup, Germany, and Harbin Institute of
Technology club station BY2HIT (operated by Wei Mingchuan,
BG2BHC), in Harbin, China, occurred between 0551 and 0728 UTC,
according to reports. The GMSK-to-JT4G repeater onboard DSLWP-B
was used to make the contact, the first ever made via a
lunar-orbiting repeater.
“Using the GMSK-to-JT4G repeater is not easy, in terms of the
signal power needed for the uplink,”
commented radio amateur and engineer Daniel
Estévez, EA4GPZ, whose blog includes images of the lunar surface
downloaded via DSLWP-B. “There were plans to make a QSO between
BY2HIT and Reinhard since many months ago, but previous attempts
didn’t work out. My congratulations to the people at both sides
of the QSO, who have achieved it a month before
DSLWP-B crashes against the lunar surface.”
As Estévez explained it, the GMSK-to-JT4G repeater works by
sending commands to the satellite that embed a 13-character
message, using the same frequency and a similar protocol to the
one that commands the camera and other satellite functions. He
said sending a message in this fashion takes a little longer
than 1 minute.
An open telecommand protocol allows radio amateurs to take
and download images, and DSLWP-B transmitted images of the moon
and Earth during this week’s solar eclipse. DSLWP-B was launched
as a secondary payload with the Quequiao relay satellite
as part of the Chang’e 4 mission to the far side of the moon.
Last September, some earthbound radio amateurs and sky watchers
received images from the tiny satellite as it orbited the moon.
DSLWP stands for “Discovering the Sky at Longest Wavelengths
Pathfinder,” and was designed to test low-frequency radio
astronomy and space-based interferometry. The repeater uplink is
on 2 meters and the downlink is on 70 centimeters. WEDNESDAY EDITION: The official start of two months
of tourist hell started today, backed up in traffic everywhere....if
there was nuclear strike here on the island we are all
screwed. The local beach parking lots are full already at $35.00 per
car for tourists....It will be a shit show on the water today with
all the drunks out in full force, I am not boating until July 5th.
funny thing is the Coast Guard is based out of the next town over,
Gloucester, but they have their hands full just keeping the aging
fishing fleet from boats sinking, breaking down, and injuries, be
very glad you do not work in the fishing industry for a
living!....
ARRL Announces “Happy 150!” Hiram Percy Maxim Birthday
Celebration
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of ARRL’s
first president and cofounder Hiram Percy Maxim (HPM), W1AW,
born on September 2, 1869. ARRL will hold an operating event
this summer to celebrate HPM’s legacy from 0000 UTC on August 31
and continue until 2359 UTC on September 8. It is open to all
radio amateurs. The event goal is straightforward: Contact as
many participating stations as possible. W1AW and all
ARRL members will append “/150” to their call signs during this
event (DX operators who are ARRL members may operate as <call
sign>/150, if permitted by their country of license.)
Participating stations will exchange a signal report and their
ARRL/RAC
Section. DX stations will send a signal report and
“DX.” Those taking part may use all Amateur Radio bands,
excluding 60, 30, 17, and 12 meters.
The event will recognize three mode groups: CW, phone (any
voice modes), and digital. Submit Cabrillo log files. ARRL will
calculate all final scores based on participant uploads to the
ARRL event web app (link not yet active).
There are 84 multipliers, which only count once. These
include the 83 ARRL/RAC Sections (RAC sections include the
Canadian Northern Territories, encompassing VE8, VY1, and VY0),
and DX. The W1AW operating schedule during this period may be
adjusted as necessary to accommodate on-air celebration
operating activities. Contacts with W1AW/150 will earn 3 points
apiece. Contacts with any ARRL member will earn 2 points each.
These stations will also identify as <call sign>/150.
Contacts with nonmembers will earn 1 point each.
Participants can earn 150 bonus points by:
- Contacting W1AW/150 on each band and mode.
- Uploading entries (ARRL members only).
- Using social media to publicize this event and/or
participation before, during, and/or after the event.
- Operating with 5 W PEP output or less throughout the
event.
- Making at least 20 contacts while operating portable.
- Completing at least 150 contacts.
Online certificates will be awarded, and available
via
download only. Updates and results will be
publicized.
This event has no power or operator categories. Participating
ARRL members who use Logbook of The World (LoTW) are encouraged
to
create a separate LoTW certificate for
uploading <call sign>/150 contacts. Members should upload
their logs for this event using their /150 certificate. This
event requires online web app submissions. No email or paper
submissions will be accepted. Sensational first ever contact via moon orbiting
transponder DSLWP-B
On 2nd July Reinhard DK5LA made the first ever
2-way QSO via the Lunar Orbiting Transponder DSLWP-B.
The QSO between the Clubstation of the Harbin Institute of
Technology, BY2HIT operated by Wei, BG2BHC and
DK5LA took place on 1st July between 05:51 and 07:28 UTC!
Congrats!!!
The full story can be read via this link:
https://destevez.net/2019/07/analysis-of-dslwp-b-eclipse-test-run-again/
Sunspots from the next solar cycle
Solar Minimum won't last forever. How do we know? Because this
week a cluster of small sunspots from the next solar cycle bubbled
up to the surface of the sun.
The dark cores didn't last long, but they had the unmistakable
magnetic signature of Solar Cycle 25.
Visit today's edition of
Spaceweather.com for more information
144 MHz signals from Cape Verde Islands heard
in Germany
On Tuesday the 2nd of July 2019, there was a remarkable
opening on 144 Mhz when a Sporadic-E opening from Germany to
Spain coincided with a marine ducting opening from Spain to the
Cape Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa.
This allowed the FT8 signals to travel from Cape Verde
Islands to Germany, a distance of some 4,875 kms. This is the
equivalent of the distance from the west of Ireland to New York
City!
Full report here...
https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2019/07/144-mhz-path-opens-up-between-cape.htm
MONDAY-TUESDAY EDITION: I am back, between childcare and
the damn boat, no time for ham radio.... Thirteen
colonies is a fun event if you need something to do ... I did
get a little listen to the thin skinned group on 3919, whose name
cannot be mentioned. I have not listened for a few weeks and missed
nothing. Same shit, another day......Plastic straws have been banned
here on Cape Ann, thank the good Lord these do-gooders are saving
the planet. Paper straws will take their place, just like what I
grew up with, lol. I predict plastic fishing lures will be next on
there hit list....Beautiful weather, Red Sox still suck, Celtics are
adding to their roster, and the Patriots are still regrouping
without the retired "Gronk"....Get away from the radio and get
outside and enjoy the weather...WTF is this
nonbinary shit....Nice article on
cw and stuff......
Northern Ireland WAB Committee Member helps
rescue injured motorcyclist in Wales
On 30th June, WAB Committee Member, Esther Harper,
GI0AZA was engaged in a Worked All Britain activation
of a rare square in Northern Ireland on 40m, when she picked up
a 'Mayday' call from Richard Haynes, MW6RBH/M.
He had come across an injured motorcyclist in an area of North
Wales where there was no mobile phone signal.
Esther called 999 and asked for air ambulance Wales - which
she says is a bit odd for their 999 in NI! They put her through
and she gave them the grid reference. The operator said she had
never had this before. Esther had to go back and get nearest
town details from Richard and when the air ambulance control
heard her talking to him, they realised that this was genuine.
The air ambulance was dispatched, and the motorcyclist lifted
out.
This truly was in the spirit of the WAB motto “To assist
others”.
World Wide Radio Operators Foundation Announces Global Digital
DX Contest
The World Wide Radio Operators Foundation ( WWROF),
in collaboration with the Slovenia Contest Club ( SCC),
has announced the World Wide Digi DX Contest ( WW
Digi), which it hopes will become an annual event.
The inaugural running of the 24-hour contest will take place on
August 31 – September 1. The new contest aims to tap into the
enthusiasm being generated by the new digital modes pioneered by
Joe Taylor, K1JT, and the WSJT-X Development Group.
Participants will use FT4 and FT8 on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, and 10
meters. The WW Digi will utilize a distance-based scoring
system, with participants earning points based on the distance
between grid square centers of the two stations in a given
contact.
“This will encourage operators to seek out long-distance,
weak-signal contacts that highlight the technical advantages of
the new digital modes,” WWROF’s announcement said.
To encourage activity across all bands, each new
two-character grid field contacted on each band will be a
multiplier. The final score will the product of total contact
points and grid square contacts. Single-operator and
multioperator entries are invited to take part.
“The contest has been designed to enable making contacts
utilizing standard WSJT-X software behavior, making it
easy for non-contesters to participate,” the announcement said.
“At the same time, the contest supports some new techniques that
will encourage operating innovation, such as permitting stations
to work up to three ‘QSO streams’ on a band at one time. Robotic
operation is specifically prohibited in order to keep the human
element as part of the game.” Similar worldwide DX contests are
planned for August through November.
Plaques will be awarded to top scorers. (Contact
WW Digi Contest Director Ed Muns, W0YK, to sponsor an award.)
Downloadable electronic certificates will be available for
anyone who submits a log. WWROF plans to have results available
within 90 days of the contest’s conclusion.
WWROF is dedicated to improving the skills and fun of Amateur
Radio operators around the world by utilizing education,
competition, advancement of technology, and scientific research,
promoting international friendship and goodwill. It is a
nonprofit, donor-supported organization.
New England Hams
you might run across 75
meters.........
K1TP-
Jon....Editor of As The World
Turns....
W1GEK-
Big Mike....Nearfest Cook, big
motor home, electronics software
engineer ...
AA1SB-
Neil...Living large traveling
the country with his
girlfriend...loves CW
N1YX-
Igor....peddles quality Russian
keys, software engineer
K1BGH...Art.....Restores
cars and radio gear, nice fella...
N1XW.....Mike-easy
going, Harley riding kind of
guy!
K1JEK-Joe...Easy going, can
be found at most ham flea market
...Cobra Antenna builder..
KA1GJU-
Kriss- Tower climbing pilot who
cooks on the side at
Hosstrader's...
W1GWU-Bob....one
of the Hosstrader's original
organizers, 75 meter regular,
Tech Wizard!!!
K1PV-
Roger....75 meter regular, easy
going guy...
W1XER...Scott....easy
going guy, loves to split
cordwood and hunt...
WS1D-
Warren- "Windy" - Bullnet
KB1VX-
Barry- the picture says it all,
he loves food!
KC1BBU-
Bob....the Mud Duck from the
Cape Cod Canal, making a lot of
noise.
W1STS- Scott...philosopher,
hat
connoisseur,
KB1JXU-
Matthew...75 meter regular...our
token liberal Democrat out of VT
KA1BXB-Don....75
meter Regular......residing on
the Cape of Cod, flying planes
and playing radio
KMIG-Rick....75
Meter Regular....teaches the
future of mankind, it's scary!
K1PEK-Steve..Founder
of Davis-RF....my best friend
from high school
K9AEN-John...Easy
going ham found at all the ham
fests
K1BXI- John.........Dr.
Linux....fine amateur radio op
....wealth of experience...
K1BQT.....Rick....very
talented ham, loves his
politics, has designed gear for
MFJ...
W1KQ- Jim- Retired
Air Force
Controller...told quite a few
pilots where to go!
N1OOL-Jeff-
The 3936 master plumber and
ragchewer...
K1BRS-Bruce-
Computer Tech of 3936...multi
talented kidney stone passing
ham...
K1BGH- Arthur, Cape Cod,
construction company/ice cream
shop, hard working man....
W1VAK-
Ed, Cape Cod, lots of experience
in all areas, once was a Jacques
Cousteus body guard....
KD1ZY-
Warren....3910 regular with
WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE
signal
N1YSU-
Bob, easy going, kind of
like Mr. Rogers until politics
are brought up then watch out...
K1BNH-
Bill- Used to work for a bottled
gas company-we think he has been
around nitrous oxide to long .
Silent KeyVA2GJB-
Graham...one of the good 14313
guys back in the day.
Silent Key
K1BHV-
David...PITA
Silent Key
W1JSH-
Mort...Air Force man
Silent Key
K1MAN--Glen....PITA
Silent KeyKB1CJG-"Cobby"-
Low key gent can be found on
many of the 75 meter
nets.........
Silent KeyWB1AAZ-
Mike, Antrim, NH, auto parts
truck driver-retired
Silent KeyWB1DVD-
Gil....Gilly..Gilmore.....easy
going, computer parts selling,
New England Ham..
Silent Key
W1OKQ-
Jack....3936 Wheeling and
Dealing......keeping the boys on
there toes....
Silent Key
W1TCS-
Terry....75 meter
regular, wealth of electronic
knowledge...
Silent Key
WIPNR-
Mack....DXCC Master, worked them
all!.. 3864 regular for many
years...
Silent Key
WILIM-
Hu....SK at 92... 3864
regular for many years...
Silent Key
N1SIE-
Dave....Loves to fly
Silent Key:N1WBD-
Big Bob- Tallest ham, at 6'10",
of the 3864 group
Silent Key:
W1FSK-Steve....Navy
Pilot, HRO Salesman, has owned
every radio ever built!
Silent Key:
W4NTI-Vietnam
Dan....far from easy going cw
and ssb op on 14275/313
Silent Key:K1FUB-Bill-
Loved ham radio.... |
